USC.edu

Leland Saito

Professor of Sociology and American Studies and Ethnicity
Leland Tadaji Saito
Email lsaito@usc.edu Office HSH 851DowneyWayHSH314 Office Phone (213) 740-3533

Research & Practice Areas

Race and Ethnic Relations, Urban Politics, Community Studies, Gentrification, Asian American Studies, Qualitative Research Methods

Education

  • Ph.D. Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1/1992
  • M.A. Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1/1989
  • B.A. Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, 1/1978

  • Tenure Track Appointments

    • Professor, University of Southern California, 11/17/2022 –
    • Associate Professor, University of Southern California, 08/01/2001 – 11/17/2022
    • Associate Professor, University of California, San Diego, 07/01/1999 – 07/01/2001
    • Assistant Professor, University of California, San Diego, 07/01/1992 – 07/01/1999

  • Summary Statement of Research Interests

    Professor Saito’s research examines the importance of race in areas such as public policies, urban development, and gentrification. He also examines politics and race relations in urban areas, with his current focus on Los Angeles. Previously, he studied these issues in San Diego and New York City. He primarily uses qualitative research methods, such as interviews, archival research, and fieldwork.

  • Book

    • Saito, L. T. (2022). Building Downtown Los Angeles: The Politics of Race and Place in Urban America. Stanford University Press.
    • Saito, L. T. (2009). The Politics of Exclusion: The Failure of Race-Neutral Policies in Urban America. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
    • Saito, L. T. (1998). Race and Politics: Asian Americans, Latinos, and Whites in a Los Angeles Suburb. University of Illinois Press.

    Book Chapters

    • Saito, L. T. (2006). The Political Significance of Race: Asian American and Latino Redistricting Debates in California and New York City. In Racial Transformations: Latinos and Asians Remaking the United States, ed. by Nicholas De Genova. Durham: Duke University Press.
    • Saito, L. T. (2001). L. T. Saito. (2001). “Asian Americans and Multiracial Political Coalitions: New York City’s Chinatown and Redistricting, 1990-1991. In Asian Americans and Politics: An Exploration, ed. by Gordon H. Chang. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Journal Article

    • Saito, L. T. (2018). Urban Development and the Growth with Equity Framework: The National League Football Stadium in Downtown Los Angeles. Urban Affairs Review. (Online 2018)
    • Saito, L. T. (2015). From Whiteness to Colorblindness in Public Polices: Racial Formation and Urban Development. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity. Vol. 1 (1), pp. 37-51.
    • Saito, L. T., Truong, J. (2014). The L.A. Live Community Benefits Agreement: Evaluating the Agreement Results and Shifting Political Power in the City. Urban Affairs Review. Publisher’s site
    • Saito, L. T. (2012). How Low-Income Residents Can Benefit from Urban Development: The LA Live Community Benefits Agreement. City & Community. Vol. 11 (2), pp. 120-150.
    • Saito, L. T. (2009). From “Blighted” to “Historic”: Race, Economic Development, and Historic Preservation in San Diego, California. Urban Affairs Review. Vol. 45 (2), pp. 166-187.
    • Saito, L. T. (2008). African Americans and Historic Preservation in San Diego: The Douglas and Clermont/Coast Hotel. Journal of San Diego History. Vol. 54 (1)
    • Saito, L. T. (2003). “Reclamation and Preservation: The San Diego Chinese Mission, 1927 to 1996.”. The Journal of San Diego History. Vol. 49 (1), pp. 1-20.
    • Saito, L. T. (2002). “The Sedimentation of Political Inequality: Charter Revision and Redistricting in New York City’s Chinatown, 1989-1991. UCLA Asian Pacific American Law Journal.
    • Saito, L. T. (1993). Asian Americans and Latinos in San Gabriel Valley, California: Ethnic Political Cooperation and Redistricting 1990-91. Amerasia Journal. Vol. 19, pp. 55-68.
    • USC or School/Dept Award for Teaching, USC Mentoring Award for Faculty Mentoring Graduate Students, 2020-2021
    • American Sociological Association Section on Asia and Asian America Book Award for the Politics of Exclusion, 2012-2013
    • Finalist for the C. Wright Mills Book Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems, 2009-2010
    • Oliver Cromwell Cox Book Award from the American Sociological Association Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities for The Politics of Exclusion, 2009-2010
    • USC Mellon Mentoring Award for mentoring undergraduate students, 2009-2010
    • American Sociological Association Section on Asia and Asian America Book Award for Race and Politics, 2000

  • Administrative Appointments

    • Director of Graduate Studies, Sociology Department, 2011-2012
    • Director of Undergraduate Studies, American Studies & Ethnicity Department., 2010-2011

    Review Panels

    • USC, Institutional Review Board, 2004 – 2007

  • Media, Alumni, and Community Relations

    • Advisory Committee member, Demographic Research Unit, Asian Pacific American Legal Center of Southern California, 2008-2009
    • National Advisory Council member, National Fair Housing Alliance, Washington, D.C., 2007-2008